I have a 17 month old boy who is all about sniffing in the ring. A grass ring is the worse. As soon as we enter the ring, his nose is in the grass. When we do a down and back, and our go around his nose is in the grass taking in all of the previous dogs' smells. This totally throws off how he carries himself and his movement. UGH! I'm sure he enjoys this, but I don't. "No Sniff" and a quick collar correction doesn't work for him. A friend said to put a dab of Vick's Vaporub under his nose to break the scents and practice on grass. Has anyone tried this? Any other suggestions. Help!

I had a bitch that I ended up having to give a discrete pinch of the lip while sternly whispering, "NO sniff" just before entering the ring. This worked great for her. I also never let the dogs sniff while working, even in my own yard. They all eventually got the idea that they cannot sniff when it's time to work.

You can practice on grass, but must remember that on the day he will be shown - there are bitch smells everywhere (which he may not be exposed to at practice).

Vicks can help - just do it before he gets too aroused. You can also try Rescue Remedy. It is supposed to calm them. Used by some pro handlers.

I would also keep his leash up under his chin and not allow him to lower his head at all, even as you make your way to the ring or standing outside. Keep the lead short and tell him "no sniff".

Not only do we practice on the grass with a martingale collar but we also put Vics on their noses. (They have a funny reaction at first, but then the sniffing stops)

Putting Vicks in a dogs nose sounds so cruel to me. Their smell is so sensitive, wouldn't this hurt them?

Train this boy. He is blowing you off. Thats what he needs, not Vicks.

I tried Vick's once on my intact boy a few minutes prior to going into the ring for Novice B. Oh boy was that a mistake! He was sooo upset with me that he totally turned off. I went back to the drawing board and we worked on keeping that attention up above his chest. During that span of time before going in the ring I had to keep him totally focused on me and him away from the crowd of dogs and people. After he'd been used a few times he improved greatly and Open was a breeze. Good scores too. Practice, practice and then lots of play. Good luck! I see that you are referring to the breed ring, but this advice applies to the breed ring too. The age of your boy is a most trying one.